When Emulation Is Not Enough: Testing in Production

In a software testing lab, a lot of attention is given to bug hunting in a testing environment. Some customers believe that it is all they need for a bug-free product.

But how can, for example, load testing in a testing environment provide results that will be completely applicable for a production environment? Of course, it can provide quite accurate results and valuable information, but a software tester should never neglect testing in production.

How to Test in Production and Not Make Users Feel Annoyed?

Testers need to continuously monitor user experience characteristics. If testing in production causes inconveniences for users, it should be stopped immediately.

It is better to execute the sessions of performance testing in production at the time when the number of users is minimal.

To create efficient test cases, software testers need to carefully analyze test data gathered in a production environment. This should include collection and examination of user behaviors, workflows and resources.

Sometimes testing of production-deployed code is not enough. For all-embracing testing, it may be required to test servers from production data center or check some other aspects of a product in production. Testers should preliminary think over all testing activities that are planned to be executed in production.

When executed carelessly, testing in production may be a big problem for end users. That is why this type of activity requires a lot of effort to be put in.